Drum handling devices for lift trucks



y 1956 E. R. KUGHLER 2,747,755

DRUM HANDLING DEVICES FOR LIFT TRUCKS Filed Feb. 12, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l LJALJ INVENTZJR I? Eon/m R. KUGHLER ATTO R N E May 29, 1956 E. R. KUGHLER 2,747,755

DRUM HANDLING DEVICES FOR LIFT TRUCKS Filed Feb. 12, 1-952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

INVENTOR Eowm R. KUGHLEQ.

United States Patent '6 DRUM HANDLING DEVICES FOR LIFT TRUCKS Edwin R. Kughler, Rye, N. Y.

Application February 12, 1952, Serial No. 271,087

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-653) This invention relates to drum handling attachments for lift trucks, the invention being specifically an improvement on the drum handling attachment disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 230,858, filed June 11, 1951. In that application I have illustrated certain forms of my drum handling apparatus for attachment to the forks of a conventional lift truck wherein drums or barrels resting on their sides are automatically picked up by their flanges by hooks which are locked into gripping position by the weight of the drum and released by depositing the drum.

in one form of the apparatus illustrated in my said co-pending application the apparatus is self-adjusting to accommodate drums and barrels of different axial dimensions. The invention of this application consists in an improvement on the self-adjusting drum handling device of my former application and has for its object to provide a self-adjusting attachment which will handle barrels and drums presenting small differences in size and which will be self-locking in all positions of adjustment within the range of the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a selfadjusting drum handling attachment wherein the range of adjustment is such that drums and barrels varying in size from a small keg such as the conventional beer keg, to a drum of SO-gallons capacity may be handled at the same time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a selfadjusting drum handling attachment of the character described wherein there are no exposed working parts save only the lifting hooks, so that there is no likelihood that the moving parts will be jammed or damaged by collision with other objects, which is practically unavoidable when handling barrels in close quarters as, for instance, when loading ships or freight cars. 1

A further object of the invention is to provide a selfadjusting drum handling device of simple design and rugged construction comprising a minimum of parts and which may be fashioned in large part from conventional steel shapes by simple welding and riveting operations.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my self-adjusting drum handling device, and in said drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional lift truck with my improved barrel handling device mounted on the forks thereof; I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the drum handling device;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view with the parts in the position they assume when the apparatus has been lowered to horizontal position over the drums;

Fig. 5 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of one of the self-adjusting lifting hooks; and

2,747,755 Patented May 29, 1956 Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the drum lifted from the ground.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, A indicates the conventional lift truck having forks B carried by a vertically movable cross head C mounted on the front end of the truck in the usual manner. The vertical guides D for the cross head are in the conventional lift truck mounted for tilting movement in a vertical plane so that the forward end of the forks may be tilted upwardly from a plane parallel with the surface on which the truck rests to thereby tilt the load carried by the trucks toward the cross head guides so that the load will not slide off the forks.

My improved self-adjusting drum handling device is attached to the lift truck without removing the forks. The device consists of two flat bars 1 which are connected together in parallel relation by cross rods 3. The ends of the rods 3 are of reduced diameter and are fitted in properly positioned holes in the side bars 1, the ends of the rods being riveted against the outer faces of the bars 1 to thereby provide a rigid frame of generally rectangular cross section. The side bars 1 are also connected together by a top plate 4 which is positioned at a distance from the rear ends of the bars 1 about equal to half the length of the forks of the lift truck, as shown in Fig. 2. The ends of the top plate 4 are welded to the inner faces of the side bars 1 and welded to the under side of the top plate are a pair of angle irons 5 extending parallel with the side bars and spaced apart such that their downwardly extending flanges lie on each side of the forks B of the lift truck, as particularly shown in Fig. 3.

Attached to the top face of the plate 4 at its middle point is a nut 6 in which is threaded a clamping bolt 7, a cross bar 8 at its upper end by which it may be readily turned by hand to clamp the forks of the lift truck be,- tween the angle irons 5 and a lower plate 9 carried by the lower end of the clamping screw 6. By this structure a single rugged clamping screw serves to hold the drum handling attachment firmly clamped onto the forks of the lift truck in a manner such that it may be quickly mounted on the lift truck when the drums are to be handled and quickly removed therefrom when the lift truck is to be used for pallets and similar loads. In mounting the drum handling attachment on the lift truck fork the plate 9 may be turned parallel with the angles so that when the attachment is placed on the fork of the lift truck the plate will pass beneath the two bars of the fork and when the angle iron is resting on the fork the plate 9 can be turned to a position at right angles to the fork to clamp the fork between the angles 5 and the plate 9.

The front ends of the side bars 1 are shaped to provide rearwardly projecting hooks 10 of a size and shape to fit under the front flange of a barrel or drum when the drum handling device is lowered over the barrel and moved rearwardly to bring the hook under the flange. The hooks may be stiffened by welding to each side of the hook-shaped ends of the bars 1 an auxiliary piece 11 of the shape shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The bars 1 are cut away on their lower edges for a distance intermediate the ends of the bar, as shown in Fig. 2, and extending across this cutaway portion of each side bar 1 is a round track rod 12 which is rigidly attached to the bar 1 at each end of the cutaway portion. As shown, the track rods 12 are attached to the bars 1 by providing slots in the ends of the rod to embrace the downwardly projecting portions of the bar at each end of the cutaway portion, the parts being then riveted tog ethe'r at each end after the rear barrel engaging hooks 13 and their supporting members 14 are mounted on the rods 12.

The members 14 are locked to the rods 12 in various positions of adjustment by means of locking pins 15 (see Fig. 4) whose ends engage holes drilled in closely spaced alignment in the under side of each of the guide rods 12. The pins are supported for sliding movement at an angle to the vertical in the depending portion of the supports 14 and are completely enclosed within the supports as shown. Each locking pin consists of a head 16 having a freely sliding fit in a bore formed in the depending portion of the part 14 and extending to a point near the transverse bore 17 through which the rod 12 extends. A hole of reduced diameter extends from the bore 15 into the bore 17 so that the end of the pin is in contact with the under side of the bar in position to project into the holes 20.

The pins are normally pressed outwardly by means of coil springs 21 surrounding the pins and pressing against the heads 16.

The heads 16 of the pins are in contact with rearwardly projecting portions of the barrel engaging hooks 13, the barrel engaging hooks being pivoted on cross pins 18 connecting the bifurcated lower ends of the hook supports 14 and formed with shoulders 19 shaped to limit the pivotal movement of the hooks under the pressure of the springs to a position where the ends of the pin 15 will just clear the under surface of the rods 12 between the holes Zt). An extensible spring 22 is attached at one end to each of the hook-supporting members 14 and at its forward end to the adjacent bar 1 at points beyond the ends of the rods 12 to thereby hold the hooksupporting members in their forward positions nearest to the forward hooks 10 when there is no drum present between the hooks.

The upper face of each of the members 14 is provided with a groove or track 23 which fits over the lower edge of the cutaway portion of the bars 1 to maintain the members 14 against turning on the rods 12 upon which they are mounted to slide freely back and forth.

The operation of the device will be clearly understood from the foregoing description, but will be briefly summarized.

When using the device to pick up and transport drums, the operator of the lift fork tilts the guides for the lifting cross head backward from the vertical so that the forks of the lift truck tilt upwardly at their forward ends. With the forks in this position the operator drives the truck toward the ends of the drums to be lifted until the rear hooks engage the ends of the drums. The forward movement of the truck is continued until the parts 14 have been pushed backward along the rods 12 a sufficient distance for the front hooks to clear the opposite ends of the drums.

The cross head guides are then tilted forwardly until the forks are substantially horizontal and the forward hooks 10 are below the adjacent flanges at the front ends of the drums. The truck is then backed up sufficiently to bring the ends of the forward hooks beneath the flanges of the drums and the cross head is then elevated to lift the drums.

As the forks with the drum handling attachment move backwardly the hooks 13 will be held in engagement with the rims of the drums by the springs 22 and when the upward movement begins the rear hooks will be turned slightly on their pivots to thereby press the upper ends of the locking pins into the immediately overlying holes in the under side of the rods 12. As the upward movement of the cross head continues, the drums will be lifted from the ground so that they may be transported where desired. When once lifted clear of the ground the drums cannot be disengaged from the hooks so long as their weight is carried by the hooks. When, however, the drums are again deposited on a supporting surface and the lifting device lowered slightly to permit a pivotal movement of the rear hooks about their pivots the springs 21 will withdraw the locking bolts from the holes 2%, thereby leaving the hook-supporting members 14 free to slide backward on the rods 12. The operator has merely to deposit the barrels at the desired place, move the truck forwardly sufficiently to bring the forward hooks out from under the rims of the barrels, and then tilt the cross head guides backwardly through a sufficient angle to lift the forward hooks clear of the barrel. The truck may then be backed away from the barrels without any part of the apparatus contacting the barrels.

In the structure shown the holes in the under side of the rods 12 may be spaced with their centers only three quarters of an inch apart, so that barrels varying in greater extent than this will effect a different adjustment of the hooks with respect to each other when the device is used in the manner described. As the flanges of the barrel or drum are at least an inch in depth, and as the springs 22 draw the movable hooks against the ends of the barrel as the barrel is picked up, the hooks will always get a good grip on the flanges of the drums, regardless of their dimensions.

As will be noted from Fig. 4, the ends of the bolts are pointed, that is, of conical contour, slightly rounded at th ends, and the holes 20 are of similar contour, with the lands between the holes rounded so that the pins, when pressed against the rods 12, will be guided into one or the other of two adjacent holes.

By inclining the pins and holes in the manner shown, the shearing action on the pins is greatly reduced and a comparatively small pin of one-half inch diameter is ample for drums up to five hundred pounds weight.

I claim:

1. A drum handling device comprising a pair of drum engaging members, a support for one of said members, said member being mounted for movement on said support toward and away from the other member, interengaging parts on said support and said movable member for locking said parts against relative movement at different distances from the other drum engaging member, and means operatively connected to a drum engaging member for bringing said parts into locking engagement by the weight of the barrel on said drum engaging member.

2. A drum handling device comprising a pair of drum engaging members, a support for one of said members, said member being mounted for movement on said support toward and away from the other member, and means actuated by the weight of the drum on said movable drum engaging member for locking the same to said support at different distances from said other drum engaging member, said means comprising a rack formed on said support and a locking member mounted for movement toward said rack under pressure of said member.

3. A drum handling device comprising a pair of drum engaging members, a support for one of said members, said member being mounted for movement on said support toward and away from the other member, a spring biased to move said members toward each other, and means actuated by the weight of the drum on said movable drum engaging member for locking the same against movement by said spring at different distances from said other drum engaging member.

4. A drum handling device comprising a pair of drum engaging members, a support for one of said members, said member being mounted for movement on said support toward and away from the other member. a spring biased to move said members toward each other, and means actuated by the weight of the drum on said movable drum engaging member for locking the same against movement by said spring at different distances from said other drum engaging member, said means comprising a rack formed on said support and a locking member mounted for movement toward and from said rack under pressure of said member.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Howe Aug. 2, 1904 Flavin Mar. 17, 1936 Koob Feb. 1, 1944 Lacey Apr. 30, 1946 Johnson Aug. 23, 1949 Cirillo Aug. 1, 1950 Falkner Oct. 31, 1950 19 Bollinger Apr. 24, 1951 

